Students, I want to simplify the self- care modality project. For the paper portion of the assignment, please answer the following questions in a question-and-answer format. I expect a minimum of two paragraphs for each question. Paper is to be in APA format. Title Page and Reference Page is required. No abstract is required. An excellent resource for APA format is Purdue Owl: You can copy and paste this URL into a search engine:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
1. Define self-care. Describe self-care practices. (3 pts)
2. What self-care healing practice did you partake in? (3 pts)
3. Why did you choose this self-care healing practice? (3 pts)
4. Please reflect on the self-care healing practice experience. (3 pts)
5. Discuss three research articles related to this modality. (3 pts)
please use information from prior paper. Same articles.
Topic was meditation.
paragraphs should not be short please
Holistic Care: Meditation
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Holistic Care: Meditation
Although some of the interventions that are implemented to treat diseases are medicine-based, there are a number of non-pharmacological interventions that help to improve the quality of life of sick patients. While a number of these non-pharmacological approaches are executed by healthcare professionals, some of them are conducted by individuals either in the presence or absence of healthcare providers (Riegel et al., 2021). Self-care modalities such as practicing good hygiene, eating a balanced diet, meditation, relaxation exercises, and guided imagery have been found to improve the health outcomes of patients who are suffering from different types of illnesses (Martínez et al., 2021). The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a monologue practice, specifically meditation, conducted as a self-care modality to promote healing. The paper will cover five major sections including the definition of self-care practice, a description of meditation as the chosen self-care healing practice, an explanation of why meditation was chosen as the self-care healing practice, a reflection of meditation experiences, and an evaluation of three research articles related to meditation.
Definition of Self-Care and Description of Self-Care Practices
Definition of Self-Care
Self-care is one of the healthcare interventions that are encouraged by healthcare professionals as a strategy to enable patients to attain good health, live independently, and improve their overall well-being. The rapid shift in disease patterns as evidenced by the emergence of chronic diseases has necessitated the integration of self-care into nursing practice in contemporary primary care settings (Martínez et al., 2021). To enable healthcare providers and patients to communicate effectively with one another and have clearly-defined lines of responsibility during self-care integration, it is highly essential to have a common definition of the concept including its attributes and impacts. Martínez et al. (2021) define self-care as a person’s ability to provide care for self by demonstrating awareness of relevant issues, exercising self-control, and demonstrating self-reliance with the aim of achieving, maintaining, and promoting optimum health and well-being. Through self-care practices, people are able to take actions to address health challenges and ensure personal safety.
A Description of Self-Care Practices
The implementation of self-care interventions in nursing practice entails an evaluation of patients’ needs and providing education specific to the chosen modality to enable patients to restore health and manage their health conditions independently. Healthcare providers also practice self-care as a strategy to maintain good health. Examples of self-care modalities that are commonly practiced by patients and healthcare providers include “meditation, mindfulness-based intervention, autogenic training, yoga, tai chi, qigong, breathing exercise, music therapy, guided imagery, biofeedback, prayer, and faith-based techniques (Kwon & Lee, 2021, p. 1320).” According to Gavurova et al. (2022), well-practiced self-care activities are associated with an improvement in a person’s life leading to an improvement in disease symptoms among patients. Patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer spend most of their time managing their conditions at home. Self-care modalities like meditation and mild exercises enable these patients to maintain good health outside the hospital setting. With continued education from healthcare providers, patients can benefit greatly from self-care practices (Martínez et al., 2021). Self-care modalities have greatly helped to reduce gaps in care practices for persons who are recovering at home and for psychologically distressed healthcare professionals since the late 20th Century.
The Chosen Self-Care Healing Practice
The healthcare modality that was chosen as a self-healer practice and that will be discussed in detail in this assignment is meditation. Meditation is a form of monologue practice conducted by a person in a quiet room. It primarily focuses on interactions among various psychological components. During meditation, a person’s body, mind, and brain interact to influence behavior (Saini et al., 2021). The key elements that facilitate successful meditation include; an environment without distractions, the meditator must maintain a comfortable posture, and the individual who is engaging in meditation monologue should have a high focus of attention combined with an open attitude (Saini et al., 2021). Involvement in meditation was facilitated by a high level of cognition and readiness to act to address the existing needs.
The student demonstrated awareness of specific needs and self-control during meditation in order to achieve the desired outcomes. The monologue experience was characterized by measurement, evaluation, and interpretation of symptoms, a factor that greatly helped to motivate the entire health care behavior. The other element of the meditation practice that contributed to success concerns acting as a unitary being. The student engaged in self-regulation of emotions at a personal level thereby facilitating the achievement of the desired cognitive processes associated with symptom improvement (Martínez et al., 2021). A crucial attribute that promoted the success of the entire monologue practice is self-reliance. The student believed in own ability to execute actions that resulted in the positive management of symptoms. As Martínez et al. (2021) explain, self-reliance during meditation promotes adherence to the care plan that has been designed to address the identified self-care needs, thereby promoting the achievement of the desired goals. Partaking in meditation as a self-care modality significantly improved personal understanding of the whole strategy including how it is executed as well as its benefits.
Reasons for Choosing the Self-Care Healing Practice
Meditation was chosen as the self-healer modality due to its anticipated benefits in addressing the existing psychological distress and loneliness. The triggering events were anxiety and loneliness. The student also demonstrated confidence in possessing the skills and knowledge required to successfully engage in meditation monologue in order to reap maximum benefits from it. Martínez et al. (2021) support the influence of triggering events and self-efficacy as some of the person-related factors that influence one’s decisions to practice meditation. Confidence and increased awareness of individual needs have also been found to motivate a person’s involvement in meditation.
Meditation has been proved to be an effective self-care strategy for improving symptoms of loneliness and anxiety. For example, Portella et al. (2021) reported that meditation is an effective complementary therapy for patients, healthcare providers, and managers with different types of psychological issues. These findings are further supported by Green et al. (2021). According to Green et al. (2021), meditation helps to reduce the mental health burden caused by diseases and life’s stressors. Supported by published evidence, the primary reason for choosing meditation as a self-care modality was to attain improved psychological well-being by reducing the mental burden caused by loneliness and anxiety.
A Reflection on the Self-Care Healing Practice Experience
Meditation experience generated numerous benefits leading to the realization of the desired outcomes. It also generated expected and unexpected results both of which brought about insights that can be applied in the future for personal self-care and for improved practice. It is worthwhile noting that some challenges were experienced during the meditation experience but they were properly managed, leading to success. The main benefits that occurred from meditation are a reduction in anxiety levels and an improvement in loneliness. According to Behan (2020), meditation and mindfulness can be used as complementary treatment modalities, especially for persons with anxiety.
The main challenge that was faced during meditation is destruction by people moving in and out of the environment. Frequent movement by people in the environment affected concentration during the session. They also interfered with the focus that is necessary to attain the positive impacts of this self-care modality (Ben-Soussan et al., 2020). The meditation practice produced both expected and unexpected outcomes. The outcome that occurred as expected is that meditation created a relaxed mind associated with comfort and improved quality of life. Another expected outcome is that the meditation experience reduced loneliness (Oliveira et al., 2021). One unexpected outcome of the meditation experience is that meditation can improve anxiety symptoms. Before engaging in the monologue, little was known regarding the effectiveness of meditation in reducing symptoms of anxiety.
Three Research Articles Related to This Modality
The concept of meditation including its benefits, challenges, and effectiveness in addressing psychological symptoms has widely been explored by researchers. The three articles related to meditation that will be analyzed in this section include Behan (2020), Ben-Soussan et al. (2020), and Oliveira et al. (2021). Behan (2020) conducted a study to examine the benefits of mindfulness and meditation practices on the health and well-being of healthcare professionals during a crisis such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers collected data for the study through a systematic review of published literature. Findings from the study revealed that long-term meditation and mindfulness practices improve symptoms of depression and anxiety. They are also associated with reduced pain scores. Meditation works well with people of different populations and age groups. Behan (2020) indicates that meditation is also an appropriate self-care modality for healthcare professionals who are facing a crisis such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Factors within a person’s environment have been reported to affect the efficacy of meditation. A study conducted by Ben-Soussan et al. (2020) revealed that a negative family environment is linked with poor meditation efficacy whereas a positive family environment is associated with beneficial outcomes. The researchers further indicate that a quiet environment that is free from destruction and a focus of attention are some of the key elements that determine the success of meditation. Based on this evidence, it is always recommended that one selects a quiet environment for practicing meditation in order to obtain maximum benefits from the experience. The article by Oliveira et al. (2021) explains how meditation, when well-practiced, can always yield the desired outcomes. Evidence from a study conducted by the researchers supports the effectiveness of meditation in improving the quality of life with the main outcome being a reduction in loneliness.
Conclusion
Self-care practices are increasingly recognized as nursing interventions that help to restore health and promote well-being among patients, healthcare providers, and managers in contemporary society. One of the self-care modalities that are associated with improved quality of life is meditation. The benefits that occurred from the meditation experience include a reduction in both anxiety and loneliness. The main challenge that was faced was destruction within the environment. It was expected that meditation would reduce loneliness and improve the quality of life. However, an outcome that was not expected is that meditation can reduce anxiety levels. Ideally, people should engage in meditation as a self-healer practice because is it associated with an improvement in the quality of life, especially among patients with chronic conditions and among healthcare providers experiencing psychological issues.
References
Behan C. (2020). The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices during times of crisis such as COVID-19. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 37(4), 256–258. https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2020.38.
Ben-Soussan, T. D., Marson, F., Piervincenzi, C., Glicksohn, J., De Fano, A., Amenduni, F., Quattrocchi, C. C., & Carducci, F. (2020). Correlates of Silence: Enhanced microstructural changes in the uncinate fasciculus. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 543773. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.543773
Gavurova, B., Popesko, B., Ivankova, V., & Rigelsky, M. (2022). The role of self-care activities (SASS-14) in depression (PHQ-9): Evidence from slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 803815. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.803815
Green, J., Huberty, J., Puzia, M., & Stecher, C. (2021). The effect of meditation and physical activity on the mental health impact of COVID-19-related stress and attention to news among mobile app users in the United States: Cross-sectional Survey. JMIR Mental Health, 8(4), e28479. https://doi.org/10.2196/28479.
Kwon, C. Y., & Lee, B. (2021). A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of mind-body modalities to manage the mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 era. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 9(10), 1320. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9101320
Martínez, N., Connelly, C. D., Pérez, A., & Calero, P. (2021). Self-care: A concept analysis. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 8(4), 418–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2021.08.007
Oliveira, D., Wilson, D., Palace-Berl, F., de Mello Ponteciano, B., Fungaro Rissatti, L., Sardela de Miranda, F., Piassa Pollizi, V., Fuscella, J. C., Mourão Terzi, A., Lepique, A. P., D’Almeida, V., & Demarzo, M. (2021). Mindfulness meditation training effects on quality of life, immune function and glutathione metabolism in service healthy female teachers: A randomized pilot clinical trial. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity-Health, 18, 100372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100372.
Portella, C. F., Ghelman, R., Abdala, V., Schveitzer, M. C., & Afonso, R. F. (2021). Meditation: Evidence Map of Systematic Reviews. Frontiers in public health, 9, 742715. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.742715
Riegel, B., Westland, H., Iovino, P., Barelds, I., Bruins, J., Stawnychy, M. A., Osokpo, O., Tarbi, E., Trappenburg, J. C. A., Vellone, E., Strömberg, A., & Jaarsma, T. (2021). Characteristics of self-care interventions for patients with a chronic condition: A scoping review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 116, 103713. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103713.
Saini, G. K., Haseeb, S. B., Taghi-Zada, Z., & Ng, J. Y. (2021). The effects of meditation on individuals facing loneliness: a scoping review. BMC Psychology, 9(1), 88. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00585-8